Some Points About Federschwerter
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Per Magnus Haaland from Norway tells us about an unusual type of sword. I encountered him at dance camp in Sweden, and this explains the music and other noises in the background. For the sake of a shorter video, I chopped four minutes out of his presentation, but kept the sense of it pretty much intact.
www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
This vid has more jump cuts than a knife throwing competition on a trampoline
lol, brilliant
+Neal Cleaver Seriously underrated comment. Got my +1 mate!
+Neal Cleaver I congratulate you sir, you have bought my like
*Bu Dun tsSS*
+Connor Burris Now (763) it's seriously rated. Not overrated, but definitely not underrated!
Even despite having interest in the topic of the video, I still found myself looking at the guy in the backgound with a sort of intense wonder. Why was he sitting next to sword guy? Where did he get that hat? What led him to want to wear that hat? How often does he buff out his shoes? Does he like beige? All these questions and more.
same
Some people says he still sits there tiil this day....
Willie Pete Why so agressive?
your avatar fits the nature of this comment extremely well
sick burn willie
He's a swede speaking English and pronouncing German words. Give him a break. I say very well done sir
+Staghound well I mean, ever swede speaks english but the german I'm impressed with because the same letter combinations sound different :DD
+Staghound he's from norway :b
+Staghound He's studied a lot of german and old german (I would think you call it, not sure). I know him a little IRL and he's studied tons of history and latin + german.
Nah thats normal, you have a choice of learning German in school from grade 6 and Up
Even by itself the pronounciation was pretty good, but considering this it just becam amazing.
I have seen slow-mo footage of swords clashing, and they bend an amazing amount. Some sabres from the Napoleonic era could be bent into a circle and spring back.
Realy
@Yrie27 Good, then you'll take the fact that he is Norwegian into account and more fully appreciate how well he did.
Well now I want to know what they said!
@Glimmlampe1982 It was quite a bit stouter than a modern fencing foil, but yes, it had some flex in it. The flex would mean that it was non-lethal in a thrust but be prepared for bruises. The main length of it had to withstand clashing swings.
I can just imagine... "But Sir, thin blades are all the rage now!" - "Nonsense, I can't stand those stupid pansy rapiers, I need a proper sword!" - "But sir, it's too unwieldy to cope in a duel. You'll get killed!" - "Killed, schmilled, a proper Longsword can take on anything! Besides, what would people think of me if I waggled around one of those glorified sharpened feather dusters?"
It's specifically for training though. The "springy" blade (spring = Feder) makes it so thrusting is way less dangerous
Yes, I guess that might be an explanation for the name. But my explanation is more fun!
If you can unscrew the pommel, it isn't a pacifist sword
Not if you want to end him rightly, of course.
Lorenzo Giani The item guarding the tip of a sword is usually called the button. The pommel is the bottom of the hilt.
I heard they used practised the art of pommel-throwing by using a hollow metal tube and black powder. It reduced the casualties during training.
The pomel is a death sentence.
@@chrispza We're talking about unscrewing your threaded pommel (not the button) and throwing it at your opponent before rushing in to (of course) end them rightly. It was quite a common thing historically.
You must be new to the sword community. Have you never seen this done in practice? I find that hard to believe since you know what a button is.
@whowantsabighug The whole talk was nearly ten minutes long. This is not much more than half the length and contains 97.2% of the meaning of the talk. I try to keep my videos short. The choppy editing may be annoying, but on the plus side, the video has better pace as a result.
Holy cow he over-complicated this. It has the same weight and point of balance as a longsword, but no center of percussion. It was cheaper to make than a (blunted) normal sword because there was no spine, fuller, distal taper, or edge geometry to worry about. The wide portion keeps the balance correct. The hooked shape at the top of the wide portion helps prevent fingers getting broken during sparring.
The Brotherhood of St Mark was for fencers who didn't want to join any guilds which would accept them as members.
I'd be there then
I see what you did there. :)
He did not present the main point about the federschwert... THE BLADE IS A SPRING! And it is wide at end! The added guard is nothing compared to the flex of the blade, that is what makes it a practice sword. The flexing makes it so if you thrust into someone, the wider point will transfer the pressure better and the blade will then flex, therefore the thrust will loose much of its original power! That is the secret and the beuty of it, it is safer for thrusting. Swings are no problem, they were no problem then and they are no problem today, we have protective gear so good that it can take a beating. Thrusts are and always have been the problem. And federschwert is the answer! Although some "pussies" further west (i am based in Prague) still ban thrusts in competitions... why? Cause they are pussies. That is why. It hurts a little and that startles them.
To add to this, a spring is called Feder in german. The name Fedeschwert can be translated to feathersword, yet springsword is what is meant. Feder has meanings like “einen stoß abFEDERn“ for softening a thrust
Enrif Wow, I had no idea since I do not speak german! Thanks for the info :)
Protton you're welcome
alot of those international youtuber from America, Canada, Australia or England (you know who is meant) would benefit from asking a few actual germans, who are also medival nerds about the stuff. Not to speak about pronunciations.....
Protton I wondered why he didn't mention the bending bit too :P
Protton s
fighting with quarterstaffs until the first bleeding wound is delivered sounds quite dangerous ;-)
My leg is broken! But are you bleeding?
@@keepermovin5906 no, not bleeding yet - let's keep going.
Sounds like a merry time.
@@Snarkbutt I think we should bring it back
It's a balance. You can use the flex to inflict a cut around a parry. Too stiff = too brittle, too bendy = unwieldy.
Federschwerter. It Schwerts Feder.
omg
nice
Federschwert means feather sword.
He said Fechterschwert though
That means Fencing sword
@ssj7gokurpg I could, but what would be the point? It would say the same thing, but be twice as long. My subscribers would be annoyed at me.
first 10 seconds : "it's a training sword". video is over.
why?
lordofdarkdudes
well, i appreciate Lindy's videos very much, i am also a fan of ancient weaponry, but it's quiet evident what this sword is. And this once he went overboard with the explanation while a simple "hey look, training sword!" would have been more appropriate.
Whats wrong with traning swords? that one is from the 15th centuri
lordofdarkdudes there's nothing wrong with training swords, but it's pretty evident what this one is, just from the shape.
prefacing the video with "what great mystery surrounds this sword?" and then going on to ramble about, well, nothing, is what originated this thread.
is that all clear now?
Sky Vins It's all clear you're just being an elitist and nitpicking.
The guy had interest on the story of the sword and learned about it.Lindy had interest and learned about it, making a video as well for those interested. If you are not just leave this page and go watch another video.
Video's don't have to cater to whether you want to watch them or not.
Would that not make it rather light and weak?
The man with the shorter stick often wins.
So, I'm presuming the cut four minutes were mostly made up of "Errrrr"'s, between each sentence? Thanks for taking the time to cut those out. The whole thing was slightly jarring but it would have been worse if you left them in. Interesting video (and person!) as always.
"do you know what the chain of command is? it's the chain I rutten beat you with!"
-Jayne
...until you know who's in command!"
That dude really hates eye contact.
+MrDavalli3 Typical Swede.
+Lord Baktor ...from Norway
Visby is in Sweden and I heard Swedish spoken in the background. Don't remember if the guy said he was Norwegian.
+Lord Baktor don't think he said it, but the description said he is norwegian
hkbruvold Fair Enough.
I'm kind of proud of myself. I'm not a super-hema guy, but I instantly recognized the engineering principles behind the purpose of this sword, and the video bore me out. I'm learning. :)
What, is it "FeCHterschwert" (fencer sword) or "FeDerschwert" (feather sword)? The guy in video says Fechterschwert but the title Federschwert
+Cheydinal I clearly hear him saying "Federschwert" so I see no contradiction.
at 0:14 he says "Fechterschwert"
Yes, and later he says Federschwert. So there is no contradiction between the video and the title, as the question suggested. There are simply two different terms for the same thing.
makes sense, it's a light (feder) sword for fencers. I could have thought of that on my own I guess :D
+Cheydinal I could have swore he said FartSchwigger.
@bewarethegreyghost I disagreed with his "the longest stick wins" statement.
Is it only me, but the guy looks like the hippie Barney Stinson
Fred RobidouxH I KNEW I RECOGNIZED HIM
+Fred RobidouxH
SUIT UP!
NO...no, not the plate...a dress suit...like...fancy cloth /facepalm fine. take the chainmail.
So Barney Stinson before his heartbreaking breakup?
When he wanted to go to the peace core
This is the first time I see the plural of Federschwert correctly written :o)
This is an example of a two-handed style practice weapon you use to hone technique and muscle memory; in the same way you can shoot a .22 cal rifle or pistol to hone shooting techniques.
or use a Bokken or Shinai in Kendo/Kenjutsu/Iaido/Iaijutsu.
Saves cutting yourself with actual tanto or daito...
I suppose the main advantage of the thin blade is that it allows you to use thrusting techniques in practice without injury.
The thin blade combined with the relatively wide tip means that it flexes and absorbes a lot of the force, preventing you from accidentally scewering your practice partners like a roast pig. Something that I'm sure said partners appretiate.
Practicing with a sword that is shaped.. well.. like a sword.. on the other hand can get rather dangerous when thrusting since the blade doesnt need to be sharp for the tip to none the less be rather pointy and nasty.
S.A. Smith Iaido and Iaijutsu usually use their own sword, which is just a katana that didn't have an edge, AFAIK.
Manatee Man
Yes, called an Iaito...I have one across the room from me & a katana there also.
Katana are used at Dan grades for kata. at least from Sandan onwards.
Kevin Sullivan Basically yeah.
@shinobitech13 You want something that will last for ages after taking a constant pounding in practice.
Funny thing. I remember the day this was uploaded and didn't want to watch it due to thinking the sword looked stupid. 12 years later here I am watching this video with my own Federschwert in hands.
As far as I know, Federschwerter were Practise-Weapons. To minimize Danger or killing someone while training, they took old Swords and ground away the Edges, as well as rounded of the Point. This kept the swords relatively safe to use in training. gradually they seemed to grind away the Edges more and more generously, so the Blades became flexible enough to even train Thrusts relatively safe. And at Some point they started building them from Scratch, rather than converting old Swords.
That Marx-Brothers comment in the end... touché!
Lots of versions of German, too. I've seen 'Fechtfeder' and 'Fechtschwert'. I don't know if I've seen your version, though: Fechterschwert.
Federshwerter were used to train because the way they are designed makes them safe to use full contact but handles the same as its actual military version. It was not a hobby weapon, just because some that practiced with it didn't do it to go to war. But that was its main purpose.
Your choice of ending words are always most appropriate good sir.
this is an interesting edit job to make him have complete sentences.
i can see the bard back there , so realistic.
He probably wanted something like Fhedeschwert.
This makes a lot more sense, because fhede is an old word for streit(hassle) and we call a battleaxe streitaxt, though using streit in this manner is obsolete as well.today we use the word kämpfen for fighting and streiten for hassling.
I could just listen to you say facts all the time. You are a really good lecturer.
Two points that he failed to mention:
A. That thick ricasso is also for structural reasons, as well as balance reasons to help counterbalance the very light tip.
B. The reason the blade is so narrow is because a narrower blade can have a very, very thick edge for the same weight, without needing more material. If you look closely, you can tell how thick that edge is - very nice. Helps ensure you won't crack anyone's skull swinging it, as the force is distributed out.
The reason you trained with this was so you could fence out of harness without so much of a risk of running your sparring mate through. Also that that ricasso by the crossguard gives the sword a good point of balance and helps replicate the weight of a regular longsword.
T Koutlosh yes that too but it wasn't solely for that purpose because if that was the case, why bother with a cross guard which is also there to protect your hands? I think a bigger reason is to keep the same weight as a regular long sword but having a thinner, more flexible blade.
he doesn't like looking into the camera does he :)
Most people don't. Cameras are rather impersonal things, most people prefer to look at other people when they talk.
the federschwert has also another important point, its flexible in thrust. thrusting with a blunt sword will still be VERY dangerous because its quite stiff. (in fact you could even punch through a fencing mask without too much trouble)
so if you want to train fencing including thrusts, without having to constantly replace your fencing partner you need something that bends on thrusts
Feder's were strictly for training. These were the practice version of a long sword which was a very popular sword of war in the 15th and 16th century. "Feder" means "feather", a bit of wry german humor given that these were deliberately a bit heavier than a typical long sword.
"Longest stick wins"
I'd revise that to "the men with the shortest stick win"
because outside of group tactics the longest stick usually has the advantage.
Including group formations and tactics, where a dude can be defended by the dude next to him, it's of course another story.
The steel is elastic enough to prevent any severe damage from thrusts as long as you put some good protection on the points. The weight of the weapons is usually higher than of a sharp weapon. You wear enough protection, including a fencing mask, in the end the typical 'injuries' are just bruises.
When buying a sword, keep in mind that not all are aimed at fighting, most swords sold these days are for decoration and not fighting. I gave you some sources where to get swords meant for fighting.
Pikes are usually in trouble because it's very difficult to shorten your grip on a stonking great long pike when the swordsman gets past your point. Polearms, say a spear or a halberd, can be super maneuverable. That's the thrust (ahah) of it; polearms win if they are maneuverable enough to adjust to the swordsman closing, and the polearm-wielder is nimble enough to stay out of range.
My personal thought on it is that it was a fencing sword, but made to look like a longsword for psychological effect. If threateningly drawing the blade, even that base of the blade looks just like that of a longsword, then boom!--Fencer
These swords are meant for training, so they have thicker edges in order to not cut. To make up for the thicker edges, the blade is narrower, otherwise the sword would be too heavy. The wide part of the blade above the hilt is not for extra protection but for balance and strength, since that's the part you'll be blocking with. Have a look at Arms&Armor's Fechtbuch and Fechterspiel swords and their reviews on MyArmoury. There are also videos on CZcams of people using these training swords.
'Everyone knows the longest stick wins'
It's not the length it's how you use it! - Said no guy with a 7 inch or longer penis.....
Spear is good without much practice, but there are some things you can only do with a sword ;)
Ravensburger
A spear can punch right through & maybe even take two at the same time.
A sword barely manages to reach the vital parts at times....
;-)
S.A. Smith
A sword can move around swiftly, so is quick and easy to reposition. A spear needs to have a good first strike.
Though, in the end, it's all bayonets anyway. Long AND swift.
Ravensburger
I don't think it's "hard" for me to have a good "first strike" with my "spear"....
Having a smaller weapon like a sword gives you the advantage of having a spare hand, which against a spear can give you the chance to grab the shaft, essentially disarming your opponent. There are numerous techniques from both sides on how to deal with this, from experience though I can say that one on one, fighting spear is challenging, but very do-able, fighting numerous spears is far more threatening.
True, most swords do flex and spring when they clash together, and the renaissance longsword is no exception, but you don't want a longsword to flex too easily and too much - aka. being wobbly. That means less control in the bind - the opponent will just press through your guard or attack as it bends away from your opponent's blade, if you ever get to the bind, that is. It might as well just bounce off and leave you open.
those jumpcuts xD
The extremely wide ricasso of the blade also protects your thumb if you happen to have your thumb on the blade for certain techniques.
Also I think - might be a rumour I picked up during training - the first Federschwerter were normal longswords which were to jagged and nicked to be used as a real sword any longer. Those were ground down to make the Feder form. Though that would make the blade considerably lighter.
So many awkward video cuts...
not at all ... that guy speaks quite well without all the (probable) "uuuh" and "eeeah" :D
Vincenc Max Ureš He speaks well yes, but all the cuts are still awkward.
Vincenc Max Ureš Yeah, typical vlog-cutting-hysteria. A widespread and idiotic fashion.
***** cut for shorten
Like the fence hop scene in Taken
@Roddyoneeye A tuck is an actual battlefield sword, essentially a longsword with a diamond or triangular cross-section, very stiff and designed for thrusting.
@bewarethegreyghost on the battlefield, that is. But as a duelling weapon and for self defence, it was used up until the 18th century, when the smallsword gradually took over as a nice accessory. I believe there is a French/Belgian fencingmaster by the name Thibault of early 18th century, who has fencing strategies for rapier against two handed sword in his curriculum, which means that they were still in use at the time.
Happy to see another point about weaponry!
Well, men today enjoy fighting each other with blunt swords, and I see no reason why men of days gone by would not have enjoyed it.
There are currently groups in Germany/Austria preparing long sword turnament rules. Those are done with "Federschwerter". One of the aspects is that "Feder" is the word for feather, but also a spring. Which means it is flexible and won't hurt when stabbing at someone (I think this is not the case with the Feder in this video). See them in action on youtube (1. offenes Fechtturnier im Langen Schwert (Wien) ) Turnament Vienna last year.
@mechupanlamonda The katzbalger was a short sword, pike formations were often very cramped and a shorter sword was useful. That said, Swiss Reislaufer often used longswords within pike formations. So you are right but I think that was what he meant by obsolete.
Great swords also had a second pair of "horns" followed by an ubsharpened piece of the blade and then the guard, this just seems to have a much fatter ubsharpened section.
Because all the wider ones got hit. Bigger targets.
5:10 or so. I think he tries to describe a mensur. A ritualised form of formal duell still practised by german academic fraternities to this day, whichs origin can be traced back to the middle ages. Nowadays only fought with "Schläger" (at least in germany), though it was more commonly fought with sabers prior ww2. In fact even the guild of the fencing masters, who used to be paid by the universities, still exists and give mandatory training lessons for members of said fraternities (though any german man is eligible to defend his honour with a weapon by the rules of weapon honour). Though the reason is different from what this guy said. In germany or better the hre commoners weren't allowed to wield swords (hence things like the lange messer (long knife)). Though there was one exception to that rule; university students. As in those times it was usual to move between universities every semester or so and due to germany consisting of hundreds of small kingdoms, dukedoms etc. plus there being a problem with robbers along the roads, students/ academics were the only group other than nobles allowed to carry and wield swords. The problem was, that giving swords to young men on their first time away from home, spending most of their times drunk in taverns proved to be not such a good idea after all. After multiple failed attempts by the emperor to ban dueling, as it actually started to have a pretty negative impact on the survival rate of academics, he decreed that there should be fencing masters at every university and a fencing room, so that at least everybody had a good education in using the sword (which proved to be beneficial, as people for one could defend themselves better and for another less accidental serious injuries/ deaths ocured). During this reform the concept of "mensur" was established as a non lethal form of formal duel, which didn't take place in direct affect, but on a later set date, time, location and comment and was more about showing honour, skill and courage (nothing but the sword wielding arm is allowed to move, target is the bare face, or in case of sabers (which is supposedly still fought in austria, Switzerland and south tirol) also the bare upper body with some protection being allowed (e.g. in some cities you were allowed to protect your two favorite organs with a leather sheet) everything else, even flinching when your ear gets cut off (which is surprisingly easy to sew back on) is considered "mucken" and is a direct disqualification which makes you shunned until you can clean your name by beating another mensur successfuly. The described following order of fencers is called a "pro patria suite", of which the most notable after ww2 was the "battle of bonn", where the kösener senioren convent (of chor studentfraternities) and the coburger senioren convent (of landsmannschafter and turner studentfraternities) had a list of 100 pairings which was fought over the weekends of one summer (officially there is no actual winner to this duels, though everybody usually compares the numbers of stitches needed per side after the duel to determine the inofficial victor)
You can also throw the pommel!
lets end them rightly
Exactly!
From what i've understood, those kind of swords were made of used sharp ones. After being hacked to full of ugly dents, the swords which were beyond repairing back to a good balanced sharp one, were reassigned to live a new life as a practicesword. Don't obviously know if this is true, but seems awfully logical to me, because why would anyone forge this kind of sword, when you can make it from a used one.
By posting this i am basically screaming into an infinitely empty room wondering if the echos are that of my own voice.
austin jagodzinski You edited it
The practicing long sword was designed that way simply because it is supposedly to be used only in practice, and the strange shape is designed so that the weight distribution totally mimicks the real two-handed longsword. It does not have edges and is not tampered right. In history, wielders of longswords in battles also wear gauntlets. The German style with second set of handguard is different thing.
a sword, even blunted can hurt you very badly. Feders are designed to minimise the risk of injury while simulating the weight and feel of a sharp.
@pritzi101 It was also considered an insult, yes, just like Katzenritter(Cat rider) was for the St. Marcus brothers. But the word Federschwert itself is a neologism, ie newly invented name for that peculiar type of sword. For some reason no scholar has bothered to catalogue it until now. The reason must be that in spite of being depicted in numerous fencing manuals of the time, there are but a handful historical examples left.
The purpose of the schilt (the wide part by the hilt) as I understand it, is to strengthen the blade at the cross so it's less likely to break. Also, this type appears to be an evolution from the earlier training swords from the 15th century, which are depicted as being a bit more beefy.
furthermore, I said that back then (back when swords were actually still commonly used), when you were in a tight formation a long sword would be more of a hindrance to battle if an opponent managed to close in beyond the wall of spears that would surround you. when your allies are all around you except in front, using a long weapon that has a wide area of affect would be more detrimental to your allies than your enemies, so that is another situation where a shorter blade is preferable.
George Silver has some interesting things to say about the relative merits of the lengths of different weapons and the usual outcome of combats between weapons of different lengths.
That and the pilum fouling the shields of the phalanx, therefore breaking their formation and leaving them vulnerable in the center and not just on the flanks.
I'm thinking many of the techniques for using the flail mainly consisted of not hitting your self with it.
it does make sense for training to build muscle memory and it would be cheaper to use something like that and save their battlefield weapons from damage while training.
Beautiful sword with clever design.
i love that you were basically making fun of him the whole time.
Just got a Paval Moc Can't wait!
They're good, I've got two myself. One had the tip broken though.
Actually the translation of Federschwert is much easier... Feder = Feather in German and Schwert = Sword. Essentially it means it's a lighter sword. I could totally buy the gentleman's explanation of its existence and why it was used. :)
They are made of steel, modern spring steel. I think the blade shown in the video is made for modern training.
You can cut a pig in half with a blunt zweihander, yes they are no toys. Still, we have very rarely injuries, the worst so far in our club was a broken finger. For free fighting the use of adequate protection is strongly recommend, some training in advanced so that all participants actually have some control over their weapons to reduce the risk of injuries. Mistakes still hurt.
1:10 I'm glad you stuck that little disclaimer in there. This kid has no idea what he is talking about. :)
Saying that he has no idea what he's talking about may be a bit overly condescending, don't you think? Many historians have differing beliefs, and while I don't necessarily believe he's a professional historian, he hardly seems completely oblivious.
My reply wasn't in response to Lloyd's point, but to the comment of TacDyne which was stating that "This kid has no idea what he is talking about.", something that I found unnecessarily condescending.
He's right about pikes being the preferred military weapon and the older style medieval swords falling out of use, but that block of steel at the hilt is for weight, not protection.
Jonathan Allen
No doubt it does, but considering there's a counterweight pommel the balance of the entire sword is off with such a thin blade.
mrsparkle001 actually, a lot of the weight comes from the blade itself. The weight and center of gravity of these swords are made to replicate those of a real longsword. The blade is narrower, but it is slightly longer and thicker. The large ricasso being so near the center of gravity, your first coment was quite right; it's mostly just to add weight.
"feder " in german juste means that it is spring steel . "fechtschwert " can be any sword that you can fight with ( fechten ) . but "Federschwert" is used for a special kind of sword like the one in the video because it is good for training ( its more difficult to hurt yourself with these sword ) :)
There are student fraternities called "Verbindungen" in germany who still practice this sort of fencing. I thing they use different weapons though.
cant say i agree with alot of that. the shilt is mainly just a weight. its thinner so you can train with it without thwonking your opponent too much. they are used to train longsword today
@KuroNekoPL I agree with you, he says fecht which does mean fence, alternatively- feder means feather, which could be a focus on its weight, even though it is stated that isn't really any lighter. Feather fencers is the name of the guild, maybe actually an insult by the opposing guild?
Another point.. I don't know what the weapon laws were like in Germany, but in England we were banned from carrying swords in public by Edward III. This may have been an obvious way of showing your sword is not a weapon, so you wouldn't be arrested in the street.
Just a short point, Katzbalger does not mean Catgutter, but rather Catfighter (balger being pretty much the equivalent of battler or fighter), refferencing the style of combat in which the Katzbalger would be used
please be clear: is it FECHTERSCHWERT (fencer sword) or FEDERSCHWERT (Feather sword)? And YES, it is important.
Check the (german) wikipedia article to "Fechtschwert". You'll find the exactly same sword titled as "Federschwert". I'm not sure if that sword is either just called Federschwert or the Federschwert is a synonym to Fechtschwert, but most images on google after I've searched for "Federschwert" show that sword you see in the video.
Xerkrosis Hello from Germany: it is a "Federschwert" (Feather Sword) or "Fecht-Feder" (Fencing-Feather) , not a "Fechtschwert" (Fencing Sword), since every sword is made for fencing, this word would be nonsens, respectively a pleonasm. The exact origin of the word "Feder" in this context is not sure, even in Germany.
The Federschwert is not a piece of sports equipment. It is the training variant of the contemporary common "Bastard-Schwert" (one-and-a-half-handed-sword), that is still the main edged weapon of the knights at the early Renaissance times. It is also a typical weapon of the urban gentry at this time - it is an expencive weapon and needs a lot of training. On horse-back it is usualy wielded with one hand - in foot-combat it is used with both hands with sophisticated techniques. The Bastad-Schwert was no typical mercenary weapon and not really a usual weapon of foot-soldiers. Typical infantry swords were the big two-handed-swords ("Bidenhänder") used by special soldiers ("Doppelsöldner" - double-pay-soldiers) to attack pike-formations and the short close-combat-sword "Katzbalger" (catfighter), the standard personal weapon of the typical German and Swiss (early Switzerland, is still a part of Germany in this times) infantry-mercenarys, the "Landsknechte". The "Federschwert" was never a training-device for the Bidenhänder.
heimdalshorn Heimdalshorn is right. I am german too, btw...
@Aroddo
The sword is called Federschwert. ;)
And it is a simple training sword. There are a few videos where you can see those in action. Like this one if you search it on youtube "German Longsword freeplay"
the cut is stronk with this one
Its true the pike and the sabre replaced the longsword over time.
Actually, im planning on getting a federschwert one of these days. I practice european fencing, and borrowing the societies weapons only gets you so far.
But that is pretty interesting. I did know of the origins of the word and its practical uses, but i did not know much about the history of the interguild duelling. Thank you for posting this.
considering that most of the combat I've been in has been in rather constricting environments (deep woods, hallways with walls made of cinderblock, large crowds of people) a shorter weapon (not a dagger, but a sword, staff, or club of modest length, nothing over three feet long) has proven to be more effective at fending off attackers.
It's obviously simplified quite a bit. A skilled user with a pike vs a skilled user with a sword would be a very interesting battle. In reality, I wouldn't doubt that the pike user would actually have a short blade, perhaps larger than a dagger but not really a full sword(or perhaps a full sword, who knows?) ready to pull out if things go bad.
even when fencing with the plate gloves you can get a broken wrist or fingers from blunt sword. Broken shoulders, knees, ribs dont improve your mood either. Not mentioning that blunt sword can still cut (well more like rip through) bare skin with ease...
and like I said on another comment that said the same thing (maybe to you; I don't remember) the grooves on the top are still there for added protection. they used a part left on to keep the sword correctly balanced for added protection because "hey, it's there anyway; why not use it for something more than just added weight?"
That wider part at end of sword before guard wasn't to proteckt hands. It was to protect gloves. Yes, they were gloves on hands. But gloves cost money, thed didn't want to waste money and damage gloves in training.
That's the reason I know why grabbing the enemy weapon is so effective. I train with swords, dagger, cloaks, sticks, buckler and round shields. Others in my club do two handed weapons as well.
I am rather sure the bschaich for example is a active hema fencer as well.